Means for gas filling and sealing of tubes



Jan. 24, 1933. .1. H. s'rALEY 'MEANS FOR GAS FILLING AND SEALING OFTUBES Filed May 51, 1932 Patented Jan. 24, 19`33 UNITED STATES PATENT?l oFFIcl-.Y

JOSEPH H. STALEY, OF COLUMBUS, INDIANA MEANS FOB GAS FILLING AND SEALING F TUBES Application :dled yMay 31, 1932. Serial No. 614,462.

This invention relates to the art of mak- Fig. 1. An exhaust valve 20 is also fitted to ing mercury containing units as are employed the cylinder 16 so that when the piston 17 :'n making -and breaking electrical circuits 1s carrfed toward the outer end of the cylinby rocking of the units and it is a primary der the oil may escape. The shaft l has a object of the invention to provide means in pocket 21 formed therein opening from the 55 a simple easily operated form to exhaust upper side and provided with a number of the air from such units, place a definite quandrain holes. This pocket is so located in the tity of mercury therein, fill the unit with a shaft 14 that upon longitudinal shifting of gas, and then seal the unit to retain that the shaft the pocket may be selectively shiftgas. Other objects and advantages such, ed from within the lopen part of-the tank to 60 l for example, as the elimination of a vacuum within the closed over|` part and the reverse, pump and of weighing means, will become apthe pocket being shifted to either side of the parent in the 'following description of the central' partition 15. invention asz'llustrated more or less diagram- The other end of the shaft 14 has an 15 matically in the accompanying Adrawing in eccentric longitudinal bore entering from the 05 which outer end and opening into the pocket 21,

Fig. 1 is a. diagram in fragmentary side within which bore a small shaft 22 is slidelevation of an apparatus embodying my inably tted whereby the shaft may be shifted vention; to have an end" enter to within the pocket 21. Fig. 2, a fragmentary'top plan view, and The shaft 22 is carried outwardly to within Fig. 3, a central longitudinal section a cylinder 23 and is connected to a piston 24 through one form of unit adapted to be hantherein, which piston is normally carried to dled by the apparatus. an outer position by means of a compression lLike characters of reference indicate like spring 25 which encircles the shaft 22 within 25 parts in the several views in the drawing. the cylinder. An inlet valve 26 is provided I provide a tank lsomewhat elongated to admit some fluid under pressure such as in respect to its width and rockably mounted oil from a line 27 to within the outer end of by some supporting means such as the brackthe cylinder and an exhaust valve 28 is also ets 1l and .12. One end of this tank 10 is left located at the outer end of the cylinder 30 open across its top and the other end is through which oil may escape from the cylinclosed over by a housing 13 which has a wall der. .l 15 serving as a partition passing down to From the 11n-der Side of the-tank 10 a, .pipa within the tank 10substal1tially Centrally line 29 flexible in nature leads to the lower thereacross and terminating at a slight disend of a. cylinder 30 within which is a piston tance above the iloor of the tank. A shaft 3,1. A rod leads from the piston 31 up to a 85 '14 is slidably entered to pass longitudinally second piston 32 which may be acted upon by through the tank in such amanne-r. that it may 0i] 'under pressur admitted through the be reCipI'OCated thl'llgh the ellilvvalls 0f the vvalve 33 'An exhaust valve 34 is provided ,tank and .the Central pflltiton 15 Which eX- to permit the escape' of oil. The oil lines 19 40 tends down from the bOX 13. The end 0f and 27 are made of some exible material so the shaft 14 which extends from the open part that the tank 10 may be rocked, `Both the of the tank 10 is entered tofwithin a cylinder cylinders 16 and 23 are supported from the 16 and iS there fitted t0 9 Piston 17- The tank 10 so that they formaunitary part therecylinder 16 is rovided with an inlet valve with and are rocked with the tank. v 15 18 to which a 'ne 19 leads from any sur't- The structure above described is adapted 95' able source of a,compres'sed oil supply. This for `use in assembling mercury switch carc Valve 18 is located at the outer end of the tridges or units of the type asvshown in Fig.

cylinder so that oil under pressure may be 3 wherein thereis a metal body 35 open at one V admitted therethrough to f orce the piston 17 end and a cover 36 also open at one end and '.00

to the inner end of the cylinder as shown in an insulating bushing 37 over which both vthe l body and the cover are pressed one toward the other to form a connection therebetween substantially air tight. In the form shown, an electrode 38 is fixed to the cover to extend throughthe bushing to within a central bore and a quantity of mercury 39 is carried within the cavity defined within the body and the bushing whereby suitable rocking of the unit will cause the mercury to flow from one end to the other making and breaking an electrical circuit between the wall of the body and the electrode 38.

The normal initial position of the shaft 14 is that indicated by the dash lines wherein the pocket 21 is shifted to the right to be in the open end of the tank 10 so that access to the pocket may be had. The various valves above referred to may be hand operated but i are here shown as being of the solenoid type whereby they may be electrically operated.

In operating the filling structure above described, the body of a cartridge or unit is placed within the pocket 21 between spring clips and 41 which detachably retain the body in a horizontally disposed position with its axis parallel to that of the shaft 14.

The body 35 is positioned within the pocket 21 to have the closed 'end directed to the left to be over the end of the bore through the shaft 14 through which the-rod 22I slides. The cover 36 is placed within the pocket 21 between clips 42 and 43 at the right end of the pocket to have its closed end against the end of the wall of the pocket. The length of the pocket is such that the body and cover are spaced apart one from the other when in the positions as above indicated. The bushing 37 has previously been pressed into the cover 36 so that it projects from the open end of the cover with an end which is adapted to fit within the body 35. The pocket 21 has a number of drain holes in its bottom side. The tank 10 has a quantity of mercury placed in it some of which will flow down the pipe 29 to the cylinder 30 and force the piston 31 up and fill the space thereunder, this space being determined by the opening and closing of the exhaust valve 34. vTo permit the insertion of the switch unit parts within the pocket 21, the valve 34 is opened`to all'ow the mercury in the .tank to flow down through the pipe 29 into the cylinder 30 in a sucient quantity to bring the level of the mercury in the tank to some such line as A--B Fig. 1. The tank 10 is held in a horizontally disposed position and after the switch unit parts are placed in the pocket, the valve 34 is closed and the valve 33 opened to admit oil under pressure into th'e cylinder 30 to `force the piston 32 down and consequently push the mercury under the piston 31 back up through the pipe 29 into the tank 10 to raise the level of the mercury to some such line as C--D whereby the pocket 21 will be Hooded and completely cov- '65 ered over with mercury. The 'body 35 and cover 36 are held within the pocket 21 to have their open ends directed slightly above a horizontal line so that as the mercury floods the pocket and covers over the parts therein, the air within the body and cover is displaced by the mercury flowing therein and completely filling them. When the air is thus displaced ,the valve 18 in the cylinder 16 is opened to allow oil under pressure to enter the cylinder and force the piston 17 from the dash line position to the solid line position and thereby carry the pocket 21 still submerged in the mercury through the partition 15 to within the closed end of the tank 10. The space within the housing or cover 13 over the closed end of the tank above the mercury has previously been cleared of air'iand filled with some gas other than oxygen, such as hydrogen, nitrogen or other gas inexpensively obtained. The tank 10 is then rocked from the horizontal position to a position such as indica-ted by the dash lines and the level of the mercury is lowered by allowing it to flow down the pipe 29 to within the cylinder 30 under the control of the valve 34. The angle to which the tank is rocked and the level to which the mercury is reduced are correlated so that all the mercury will have been drained out of the cover 36 and -just the desired amount of mercury will be permitted to remain in the body 35, the angle of inclination of the body determining the amount of mercury left within. Gas under slight pressure is admitted to within the housing 13 through the pipe 44 so that as the mercury level drops to uncover the body and cover in the pocket 21 the gas within the housing will replace the mercury flowing out of the body and cover. Thus the required amount of mercury/ is placed within the body and the air originally in both the body and cover has been replaced by the desired gas.

While the tank 10 is maintained in the rocked position, oil is admitted to within the cylinder 23 through the valve 26 to force the piston 24 against the spring 25 and carry the rod 22 through the shaft 14 to cause the rod 22 to strike the body 35 and push it along between the fingers 40, 41 and force its "open end over the bushing 37 to seal the mercury and gas therewithin. The tank 1() is rocked around to the horizontal position and the piston 24 is allowed to continue in its travel to carry the shaft 14 backto the right as the rod 22 pushes the assembled unit against the` end wall of the pocket 21, the valve 20 having been opened to permit the piston 17 to shift within the cylinder 16. When the shaft 14 has been shifted to carry the pocket 21 through the partition 15 and into the open` end of the tank 10, the valve 26 is'closed and the valve 28 opened to allow the piston 24 to return to the outer end of the cylinderunder ico "line A-B as before indicated. The assembled unit may be lifted from'the ocket and disassembled parts placed therein fdr the next operation. It is to be understood that the particular structure of the switch unit does no enter into my present invention and thatv filled unit.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in the form as now best known to me, it is obvious that structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and I, therefore, do not desire lto be limited to that precise form beyond the limitations as may be imposed by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a filling device for a multiple par mercury switch tu'be, a closed tank, a member having a pocketv therein adapted tohold said tube parts, said member being disposed to be shifted to carry the pocket within said tank, means for shifting the member, a quantity of mercury, means for relatively submerging and uncovering the tube parts in said pocket, and means for assembling said tube arts while in said tank.

2. n a filling device for a mercuryv 'switch tube, a tank ada ted to hold aquantity of mercury, means or holding the tube within the tank, said tank being rockable, and means for varying the level of the )mercury in the tank whereby the level ma be varied in the vtank to fill the tube, and t e tank rocked to partially empty the tube.

3. The method of filling a mercury switch tube having a body, and a body closing member adapted to be telescoped to form a closed tube, which comprises submerging the body and closing member in a bath of mercury to displace the air therein, carrying the submerged body and member to within a gas filled chamber, rocking the body and member in the presence of the gas to partially drain the mercury therefrom tov leave a predetermined amount of mercury in the body and to allow the gas to replace the drainedlmercury, and pushing the body and member together to enclose the residual mercury and the gas therewithin. v

4. In a mercury and gas filling device for a multiple part mercury switch tube, a tank havlng a closed end and an open end, a quantity of mercury in the tank, a partition between the tank ends having its lower end submerged in said mercury and under which end the mercury may fiow to either tank end, a shaft slidably mounted to shift lthrough said partition, means carried by the shaft to removably retain said tube parts'one separated initially from the other, means for shifting said shaft to carry said parts through said partition from the open to the closed tank end, meansfor varying the level `of the mercury in the tank, a rod adapted to move one of said tube-parts toward the otherwhen in the closed. tank end, and means for shifting said rod.' 4

5. In a mercury and gas filling device for a multiple part mercury switch tube, a tank having a closed end and an openend, a quantity of mercury inthe tank, a partition between the tan ends having its lower end submerged in said mercury and under which end the mercury may flow to either tank end, a shaft slidably mounted to shift through said partition, means carried by the shaft to removably retain said tube parts one sepaf rated initially from the other, means for` shiftin -said shaft to carry said parts throug said partition from the open to the closed tank end,means for varying the level of the mercury in the tank, a rod adapted to move one of said tube parts Itoward the other` when in the closedv tank end, and means for shifting said rod, said tank being rockably supported whereby the angle` of inclination of said tube parts may be varied.

6. In a device for placin a quantity of liquid in a tube, a tank containing the liquid, means for holding a tube in the tank at a relatively xed position, means for rocking the tank, and means initially lowering the level of thel liquid to permit positionin of the tube, then raising the liquid level w ile the tank is rocked, and finally lowering the level while the tank is in the rocked position.

7.- In a device for exhausting air from a tube and gas filling it, a tank, a liquid in the tank, a tube holder in the tank, means for lowering and raising the liquid to uncover and cover said holder whereby the holder may be uncovered to receive a tube and then covered'to dis lace the air therein by the 7 liquid, means or bringing a volume of filling gas over the surface of said liquid in the absence of air, and means for rocking said tank to spill out liquid from the tube upon lowering of the liquid level in the tank l lto permit gas to replace the spilled out liquid in the tube.

8. The method of placing a predetermined quantity of mercury in a tube which comprises submerging the tube in a bath of mercury to completely fill the tube, relatively rocking the tube while submerged in the bath to a predetermined angle, and relatively raising the tube in that rocked position from the bath, whereby excess mercury will spill l out from the tube down to that level as determined by the rocked position of the tube.

9. The method of placing a predetermined quantity of mercury in a tube and gas filling the tube, which, comprises submerging the tube in' a bath of the mercury to displace all of the air in the tube by the mercury, Subjecting a volume of gas under pressure against the surface of said bath, rocking the tube in the bath to a predetermined angle, and lowering the level of the bath in the presence of the gas to permit excess mercury to spill out of the tube down to the levl determinedy by the rocked position and to permit said gas to flow into the tube to replace the'spilled out mercury.

10. The method of placing a predetermined quantity of mercury in a tube and gas lling the tube, which. comprises submerging the tube in a bath of the mercury to displace all of the air in the tube by the mercury, subjecting a volume of gas underpressureagainst the surface of said bath, rocking the tube in the bath to a predetermined angle, and lowering the level of the bath in the presence of the gas to permit excess mercury to spill out of the tube down to the level determined by the rocked position and to permit said gas to flow into the tube to replace the spilled out mer cury, and sealing the tube while subjected to said gas.

11. In combination, a double compartment tank, one of said compartments being closedover to retain a gas, and the other subjected to atmospheric pressure, a tube-holder, means for shifting the holder from one compartment to the other, means forcrelatively rocking the holder in said closed compartment, said tank being adapted to hold a liquid, and means for varying the level of the liquid in the tank.

12. In combination, a double compartment tank, one of said vcompartments being closed over to retain a gas, and the other subjected to atmospheric pressure, a tube-holder, means for shifting the holder from one compartment to the other, means for relatively rocking the holderin said closed compartment, said tank being adapted to hold a liquid, and means for varying the level of the liquid in the tank, said shifting means including means for compressing a tube in said holder longitudinally while in said closed compartment. n Y

13. In combination, a double compartment tank, one of said compartments being closed over to retain a gas, and the other subjected to atmospheric pressure, a tube-holder, means for shifting the holder from one compartment to the other, means for relatively rocking the holder in said closed compartment, said tank being adapted to hold a liquid, and means for varying the level of the liquid in the tank, said compartments being interconnected whereby the liquid levgel in each is normally the same.

14. In a tube mercury and gas filling device, a tankadapted to hold a quantity of mercury, a tube holder in the tank, means for varying the an ularity ofthe tube holder,

and a gas tank ell` relatively submerged by its edges in the mercury under which bell said holder may be brought.

15. In a tube mercury and gasfilling device, a tank adapted to hold a quantity of mercury, a tube holder in the tank, means for varying the angularity of the tube holder, and a gas tank^bell relatively submerged 'by its edges in the mercury under which bell said holder may be brought, and means forsealing the tube while under the bell.

16. In a tube mercury and gas filling device,.a tank adapted to hold a quantity of mercury, a tube holder in the tank, means for varying the angularity of the tube holder,

and a gas tank bell relatively submerged by its edges in the mercury under which bell said holder may be brought, means for relatively raising the holder above the mercury, and Lnqmsfor closing thetube while under said In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOSEPH I-I. STALEY. 

